Ørjan Nilsen is a Norwegian trance music producer and DJ.  Nilsen has released a number of tracks on Armin van Buuren’s Armada music group.  Originally known for a hybrid Tech-Trance / Progressive sound Nilsen’s productions are now more mainstream.

Early Years: 2006 to present

After a musical childhood, followed by a series of bootleg remixes in 2004 Ørjan Nilsen made his first official remix in 2005 under the alias DJ Governor. The remix ('Virunga’ – Simbabwe) was championed by Dutch DJ duo Danjo & Styles and the following year Nilsen released his first own production, tribal and percussive ‘Red Woods’ which was signed to Armin van Buuren’s Captivating Sounds. 

Nilsen’s follow up track ‘Arctic Globe’ (Intuition Recordings 2006) went to the top of the Dutch Music charts, with the W&W Tech-Trance remix proving to be the most popular.

By this stage Nilsen had begun to build himself a reputation for a sound that straddled Progressive and Tech-Trance.  But the track which brought him widest recognition was ‘Be As One (La Guitarra)’ (Armada Music     2008).  Dedicated to his brother who had died of cancer ‘Be As One (La Guitarra)’ is melodic mainstream trance. 

Nilsen released a few more mainstream trance releases and then in 2010 went even more mainstream with the commercial electro trance of ‘So Long Radio’ (Soundpiercing 2010).

Ørjan Nilsen’s production career got off to a quick start and benefited from the support of top tier DJs, particularly Armin van Buuren and his Armada record label group.  Though he broke onto the scene with a hybrid Tech-Trance / Progressive sound Nilsen’s productions have since become more mainstream and less distinctive.

Ørjan Nilsen has a musical childhood: he started playing the drums aged 1 and continued to learn how to play them until he was 9.  Aged 7 he got his first keyboard and at 16 got his first synthesizer.